Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Massimiliano Allegri: The Man Behind the Legend

Stubborn. Determined. Effective?
These are three words that perhaps best describe the enigma that is Massimiliano
Allegri. Love him or hate him, on paper, he is incredibly successful. People
can argue whether or not those accomplishments are truly his, or perhaps he has
simply been in the right place at the right time. But either way, he is at
least part genius for being poised for such success. And geniuses are not
always popular. Despite having one more year on his contract as manager of AC
Milan, Sunday’s match will be key to determine whether or not he will stay on
for one more year, or perhaps even be offered an extension. Ahead of this
crucial fixture, here is a little more background on the life and character of
this polarizing man.

He's like the average student who wins the National Spelling Bee or Science Fair

Hailing from Livorno, Allegri’s footballing career could be
described as relatively mediocre. He played mainly in the lower leagues until
the age of 24, when he signed for Pescara. That season, 1991-92, saw Pescara
promoted to Serie A. The following season, despite Pescara being relegated back
to Serie B in last place, Allegri was a tremendous asset to the club, scoring
12 goals from midfield, and putting him in a very elite group of midfielders to
ever do that in Serie A. You could argue that he was to Pescara what Nocerino
was to Milan his first season.

The next season, he went to Cagliari, where he played for
two seasons, then two seasons at Perugia, then six months at Padova, six months
at Napoli, and back to Pescara for a couple of years. He finished his playing
career at lower table clubs Pistoiese and Aglianese, retiring in 2003. It is
curious to note, however, that he was convicted of matchfixing relating to a
Coppa Italia match in 2000, and served a one year ban for this in 2001.

A mostly mediocre player, he left his mark on Serie A at Pescara with 12 goals from midfield

His coaching career began in Serie C2 with the club he ended
his playing career with, Aglianese. From there he moved to Serie C2 side
Grosseto, but was sacked early on in the season. He chose to go to Udinese as a
coaching staff member rather than head coach, but earned a 3 month ban because
he moved to Udinese while technically still under contract with Grosseto. I
don’t know if these bans of his were due to a character flaw, if he felt he was
above the laws, or if he was simply unlucky. But it is only a minority of
players or coaches who actually earn and end up serving bans, and he has
managed to accomplish it as a player and a coach.

His coaching career took off with Sassuolo, where he led the
Serie C1 side to their first promotion to Serie B, despite serving that three month
ban during the middle of the 2007-08 season. It is of note that Sassuolo are
currently poised to promote to Serie A for the first time this next season, and
their owner, Squinzi, recently had glowing things to say about Allegri,
including that he hopes the club can do well in Serie A and that Allegri could
once again manage them.

A very young Allegri shown here at his first job as a manager for Aglianese

His success at Sassuolo earned the attention of Serie A side
Cagliari, where Allegri would earn the peer-voted Panchina d’oro, or golden
bench award, which is given to the best Serie A manager each year. He brought
the team to a very impressive 9th place finish that season, with a relatively
mediocre team. His second season saw Cagliari at a very respectable 12th place
in Serie A, yet Allegri was suddenly and quite inexplicably sacked in April.
This, of course, led to his availability for Milan, who quickly snatched him up
post season.

From Serie C2 to Scudetto with Milan in only 7 years. Genius?

It is unnecessary to tell you what happened next. With an
incredible roster of star players, he led Milan to a fairly convincing Scudetto
run his very first season at a big club. Some say there was little competition,
and that it was due to the players, not him. Whatever you believe about that,
he has a Scudetto on his bio. And a second place finish the following year,
despite an Injury Armageddon™ the likes of which is rarely seen. And if he
plays his cards right on Sunday, he could have a third place finish on a season
where the rug was almost literally pulled out from under his feet in terms of
quality of players and the sheer number of players changing, too. All of this
under intense criticism and scrutiny from the lowest of fans all the way up to
the President of the club, a fate perhaps worse than being sacked.

Appropriate for his Juventus fan roots, this is his old lady, or ex-wife

In his personal life, he was married and has a daughter, Valentina,
whom he loves to spend time with. He and his wife are divorced, so he upgraded
to a 24 year-old ex-Playmate, Gloria Patrizi, who is almost half his age (he is
45 years old) and barely older than his daughter. I told you he is a genius.

The upgrade: She's young enough to be his daughter, and an ex-Playmate, too. Genius.

Polarizing, uncharismatic, and incredibly lucky. He has made
the most of what he has been given, and yet is still unconvincing to many.
Personally, I applaud his determination and work ethic. It seems that given his
track record of mediocrity and brushes with scandal, he is to be given credit
for earning his way to a club like AC Milan. But his stubbornness seems almost
more flaw than strength. What is almost unnerving, however, is how effective he
has been, or at least all of his teams have been under his watch. More unnerving is how ridiculously close to even more success he has been, and what his slow season starts and stuttering finishes could have been. Whatever your
thoughts about him, there is more than coincidence at work here. But how much
of it is him being effective and how much of it is luck and/or a talent for
surrounding himself with the right people?

The one constant love of his life, his daughter, Valentina

Recently, there was an “Allegri by the Numbers” set of stats
produced by Opta. At 60% win percentage, Allegri has the second-best win
percentage in Milan’s Serie A history. He is currently the second-longest
serving manager in Serie A, behind Mazzarri of Napoli, and he is the third
youngest manager to win Serie A since the three-point win scoring system was
introduced, having won the Scudetto at age 43. All incredible accomplishments,
and for anyone who has ever been subjected to his press conferences or been
frustrated by his incredibly calm demeanor following an important loss or draw,
it may be even more incredible to see him etched into the record books of both
Milan and Serie A.

A parody of the Dos Equis beer commercials, Allegri is The Most Interesting Coach in the World

As a Milan fan, I am losing sleep anticipating the results
of Sunday’s match. And I am also watching Allegri’s every move, facial
expression, and reading every quote. As a Serie A manager, he earns such
scrutiny a part of his job description. But I am also quite curious to see what
becomes of him in the long run. He said last year that he only wanted to coach
until age 55 because of the stress, but that he would also love to coach the
national team. Will his determination take him to his goals? Or will his
character flaws keep him from his dreams? What will statistics say about a man
for whom there really are no words? Will his accomplishments be credited to his
effectiveness, or will they be given the asterisk of luck or association? How
he manages this game on Sunday could have a lot to do with those answers. Or it
might not. Love him or hate him, he is fast becoming a legend.